The Cathedral of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan is near the new Opera Theatre building. It is surrounded by old wooden houses. They began to build the cathedral in a small settlement beyond the Kutum river in 19 century. Today it is the center of Astrakhan.
The Icon of Our Lady of Kazan is highly venerated in Astrakhan. It was the copy of just this icon that was brought by prince Igor Odoevsky in 1614 who came with his host to liberate Astrakhan from the bands of Zarutsky and Marina Mnishek. Zarutsky and Mnishek fled from Astrakhan and that was the end of the Time of Troubles. Later the icon was moved to the Assumption Cathedral of the Astrakhan Kremlin.
The Cathedral of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan was built in 1769 but since then it was burnt, restored three times and reconstructed. The today cathedral was designed in the Old Russian style 1907. It has a rich outside decoration.
The main holy thing of the cathedral is the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan. The icon was painted on the saint Mount Athos. In the iconostasis of the cathedral there are also beaded icons.
